With 'Argo' win, Hollywood air-kisses itself

By Gene Seymour, Special to CNN

Updated 12:58 PM ET, Tue February 26, 2013

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Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – "Argo," best picture: Director and producer Ben Affleck joined producers Grant Heslov and George Clooney, as well as the "Argo" cast, to accept the award. Heslov was sure to thank Affleck for his directing, after he was not nominated in that category. See the full list of winners.

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Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Daniel Day-Lewis, best actor: Everyone knew Day-Lewis was going to take this prize, but that didn't stop the actor from looking utterly overcome with emotion as he claimed his honor. "I really don't know how any of this happened. I do know that I've received more than my fair share of fortune," he said. He made sure to thank three men at the "apex of that human pyramid" that created "Lincoln:" Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg and the "mysteriously beautiful mind, body and spirit of Abraham Lincoln."

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Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Jennifer Lawrence, best actress: First-time Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence tripped as she climbed the steps to accept her award, but the "Silver Linings Playbook" star quickly recovered. As she thanked her cast and family, Lawrence was sure to wish fellow best actress nominee Emmanuelle Riva a happy 86th birthday.

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Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Christoph Waltz, best supporting actor: "Django Unchained" star Christoph Waltz graciously accepted his second Oscar on Sunday night, thanking both the writer-director, Quentin Tarantino, as well as his co-stars. "We participated in a hero's journey," Waltz said, "the hero here being Quentin."

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Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Anne Hathaway, best supporting actress: As Anne Hathaway accepted her first Oscar win for her work in "Les Miserables," the 30-year-old actress looked down at her statue and said, "It came true." After thanking everyone from her friends and family to the cast and crew of "Les Mis," Hathaway was also sure to thank her husband. "By far the greatest moment of my life was when you walked into it."

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Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Ang Lee, best director: Ang Lee accepted his second Oscar for directing as the audience stood on their feet in a standing ovation. "Thank you movie god," Lee said, adding, "I want to thank you for believing in this story." He noted that he shares the award with everyone who worked with him on "Life of Pi."

A movie that offended almost no one, transgressed no historical fact or sociopolitical milieu and inspired every craftsperson in Hollywood to build his or her own giant pussycat (or some rough equivalent) proved to be the biggest surprise of Sunday night's Academy Awards -- without winning best picture.

"Life of Pi" did win four Oscars, including the best director prize for Ang Lee that probably should have gone to Ben Affleck (his movie, "Argo," got the best picture Oscar everyone expected it to get, along with one for best adapted screenplay and one for best editing.)

And by the way, here's a flash for you people who think best picture really means best picture. There are, and always have been, two criteria for a movie getting the Academy Awards' top prize and they have little, if anything, to do with whether it's really the year's best movie ... or even a very good movie.

Either:

Gene Seymour

1. It's a movie whose success will somehow benefit as many people in the movie industry as possible. Or ...

2. It's a movie that somehow reflects Hollywood's best image of itself.

When both these factors are in play, the movie is unstoppable. So it should have been obvious from the beginning that "Argo" was going to nab that one, even without its pre-Oscar haul of prizes from such trade organizations as the Screen Actors, Producers and Directors guilds. Its issues of historical accuracy aside (and conceded from the start by Affleck and others), the movie's a crisp little nail-biter that easily sells itself to the international marketplace, which remains the final frontier for American commercial cinema. That takes care of criterion No. 1.

And as for No 2 -- well, duh! Movie producers are the heroes who help save the lives of helpless Americans trapped in revolutionary Iran. What's more flattering to Hollywood's self-image than that?

If not for that, it's entirely possible that Lee's adaptation of Yann Martel's mystical adventure would have picked everyone's pocket Sunday night. Even Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," whose focus on how the idealistic-but-pragmatic president battled intransigent legislators over constitutional banishment of slavery, carried enough contemporary resonance to make it an early favorite in the year of Barack Obama's re-election.

But "Pi's" bargain-basement metaphysics is like organic fruit salad to the collective Hollywood mindset, irrespective of ideology. And the various trades in movie land from the production designers to the boom operators were likely jazzed by "Pi's" technological achievements, notably the digitally enhanced Bengal tiger that even the movie's harsher critics believed to have stolen the movie from its human actors.

Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – Even though he wasn't nominated for a best director Oscar, it was comeback kid Ben Affleck's big night at the 85th Academy Awards. His film "Argo" took home top honors as the year's best picture. From child actor to Hollywood heavyweight, see Affleck's road to gold:

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – Affleck starred opposite Pam Potillo in "Wanted: The Perfect Guy," an Emmy Award-winning ABC Afterschool Special in 1986.

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams starred in 1997's "Chasing Amy."

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – Affleck and Matt Damon wrote and starred in 1997's "Good Will Hunting."

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – In 1998, Affleck and Matt Damon won the Academy Award for best original screenplay.

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – After his Oscar win, Affleck was courted as a leading man. Here he is in 1998's "Armageddon."

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – He starred alongside Sandra Bullock in 1999's "Forces of Nature."

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – In 2001, he co-starred with Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale in "Pearl Harbor."

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – Affleck and Jennifer Garner met as co-stars in 2003's "Daredevil." At the time, she was married to actor Scott Foley and Affleck was engaged to Jennifer Lopez. Affleck and Garner married in 2005.

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – Affleck kisses Shia LaBeouf at the premiere of "The Battle of Shaker Heights," a film he and Matt Damon executive produced in 2003.

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – The Massachusetts native threw the first pitch at Boston's Fenway Park in 2003.

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – Affleck and Jennifer Lopez fell in love on the set of 2003's universally panned "Gigli."

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – Jennifer Lopez and Affleck, dubbed "Bennifer," called off their engagement in 2004. By 2005, Affleck and Jennifer Garner were married, with a baby on the way.

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – Affleck, Jennifer Garner and catcher Doug Mirabelli of the Boston Red Sox talk at a 2005 game against the New York Yankees in Boston.

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Photos:Ben Affleck through the years

Ben Affleck through the years – Jennifer Garner, Affleck and their firstborn, Violet, spend time together as a family in New York in 2007.

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Photos:Photos: The winners list

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – "Argo," best picture: Director and producer Ben Affleck joined producers Grant Heslov and George Clooney, as well as the "Argo" cast, to accept the award. Heslov was sure to thank Affleck for his directing, after he was not nominated in that category. See the full list of winners.

Hide Caption

1 of 6

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Daniel Day-Lewis, best actor: Everyone knew Day-Lewis was going to take this prize, but that didn't stop the actor from looking utterly overcome with emotion as he claimed his honor. "I really don't know how any of this happened. I do know that I've received more than my fair share of fortune," he said. He made sure to thank three men at the "apex of that human pyramid" that created "Lincoln:" Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg and the "mysteriously beautiful mind, body and spirit of Abraham Lincoln."

Hide Caption

2 of 6

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Jennifer Lawrence, best actress: First-time Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence tripped as she climbed the steps to accept her award, but the "Silver Linings Playbook" star quickly recovered. As she thanked her cast and family, Lawrence was sure to wish fellow best actress nominee Emmanuelle Riva a happy 86th birthday.

Hide Caption

3 of 6

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Christoph Waltz, best supporting actor: "Django Unchained" star Christoph Waltz graciously accepted his second Oscar on Sunday night, thanking both the writer-director, Quentin Tarantino, as well as his co-stars. "We participated in a hero's journey," Waltz said, "the hero here being Quentin."

Hide Caption

4 of 6

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Anne Hathaway, best supporting actress: As Anne Hathaway accepted her first Oscar win for her work in "Les Miserables," the 30-year-old actress looked down at her statue and said, "It came true." After thanking everyone from her friends and family to the cast and crew of "Les Mis," Hathaway was also sure to thank her husband. "By far the greatest moment of my life was when you walked into it."

Hide Caption

5 of 6

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Ang Lee, best director: Ang Lee accepted his second Oscar for directing as the audience stood on their feet in a standing ovation. "Thank you movie god," Lee said, adding, "I want to thank you for believing in this story." He noted that he shares the award with everyone who worked with him on "Life of Pi."

Hide Caption

6 of 6

Photos:Photos: The winners list

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – "Argo," best picture: Director and producer Ben Affleck joined producers Grant Heslov and George Clooney, as well as the "Argo" cast, to accept the award. Heslov was sure to thank Affleck for his directing, after he was not nominated in that category. See the full list of winners.

Hide Caption

1 of 6

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Daniel Day-Lewis, best actor: Everyone knew Day-Lewis was going to take this prize, but that didn't stop the actor from looking utterly overcome with emotion as he claimed his honor. "I really don't know how any of this happened. I do know that I've received more than my fair share of fortune," he said. He made sure to thank three men at the "apex of that human pyramid" that created "Lincoln:" Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg and the "mysteriously beautiful mind, body and spirit of Abraham Lincoln."

Hide Caption

2 of 6

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Jennifer Lawrence, best actress: First-time Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence tripped as she climbed the steps to accept her award, but the "Silver Linings Playbook" star quickly recovered. As she thanked her cast and family, Lawrence was sure to wish fellow best actress nominee Emmanuelle Riva a happy 86th birthday.

Hide Caption

3 of 6

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Christoph Waltz, best supporting actor: "Django Unchained" star Christoph Waltz graciously accepted his second Oscar on Sunday night, thanking both the writer-director, Quentin Tarantino, as well as his co-stars. "We participated in a hero's journey," Waltz said, "the hero here being Quentin."

Hide Caption

4 of 6

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Anne Hathaway, best supporting actress: As Anne Hathaway accepted her first Oscar win for her work in "Les Miserables," the 30-year-old actress looked down at her statue and said, "It came true." After thanking everyone from her friends and family to the cast and crew of "Les Mis," Hathaway was also sure to thank her husband. "By far the greatest moment of my life was when you walked into it."

Hide Caption

5 of 6

Photos:Photos: The winners list

The winners list – Ang Lee, best director: Ang Lee accepted his second Oscar for directing as the audience stood on their feet in a standing ovation. "Thank you movie god," Lee said, adding, "I want to thank you for believing in this story." He noted that he shares the award with everyone who worked with him on "Life of Pi."

Hide Caption

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The only other (mildly) unexpected incident Sunday night came with Quentin Tarantino's Oscar for best original screenplay for his cheeky, incendiary antebellum satire, "Django Unchained." Most of the flak Tarantino caught for the movie came from African-Americans, who believed he was at best presumptuous and at worst defamatory in playing fast and loose with the history of American slavery.

Those who stood up to cheer the most emphatically when presenter Dustin Hoffman announced Tarantino's name were African-American actors in the film, including Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington. As usual, we'll have to wait another 20 years to see which of these movies endures beyond their varied contemporary controversies.

Oh and by the by -- Sunday night's Oscar telecast was as embarrassing as it always is, and not even host Seth MacFarlane's attempts to cover up the embarrassments by commenting about how embarrassed he was couldn't conceal the fact that, yet again, the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences has failed to make its annual pageant appealing to younger audiences without alienating its older patrons.

It would seem the only way to pull that off would be to play things safe while seeming to be rebellious. And Hollywood's usually pretty good at playing pretend games like that -- except when it's not.